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Judi Lynn

(160,219 posts)
Thu Apr 9, 2020, 11:25 PM Apr 2020

Wisconsin clerks guarding ballots for days before counting


Todd Richmond, Associated Press
Updated 5:12 pm CDT, Thursday, April 9, 2020

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin's messy presidential primary election ended for voters, but it's far from finished for nearly 2,000 local clerks who have to guard the ballots for days before counting can begin.

Those clerks usually would have begun counting as soon as polls closed on election night, rushing to get their numbers to county clerks. Instead, the court fight over whether to hold the election during the coronavirus crisis resulted in a judge's order that ballots can't be counted until Monday afternoon.

State election officials have warned clerks to safeguard their ballots and voting machines to ensure there's no tampering that could call results into question. Clerks have responded by placing ballots in sealed bags, locking them in safes, closets and offices, and doing the same with voting machines that hold electronic data.

David Godek, the clerk in Janesville, a city of 64,000 about 40 miles south of Madison, said tampering is possible but would be difficult. Only he and his deputy have keys to the room in City Hall where the city's materials are stored.

More:
https://www.chron.com/news/article/Wisconsin-clerks-guarding-ballots-for-days-before-15190438.php




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Wisconsin clerks guarding ballots for days before counting (Original Post) Judi Lynn Apr 2020 OP
TY for posting SheltieLover Apr 2020 #1
Now they need to keep an eye on Republican clerks. Sneederbunk Apr 2020 #2
"... tampering is possible but would be difficult." Not a challenge for GOP. NCjack Apr 2020 #3
Some fun: If you were one of the clerks, where would you secure the ballots? 3Hotdogs Apr 2020 #4
Not the judge's concern. Igel Apr 2020 #5

SheltieLover

(57,073 posts)
1. TY for posting
Thu Apr 9, 2020, 11:28 PM
Apr 2020

I know they are guarding them but I've been worried.

Strange order from judge. Smells rotten! 🤬

3Hotdogs

(12,210 posts)
4. Some fun: If you were one of the clerks, where would you secure the ballots?
Fri Apr 10, 2020, 12:21 AM
Apr 2020

In your house? In a jail cell? That would be my choice. In a safe in your office? In Scott Walker's office?

Igel

(35,197 posts)
5. Not the judge's concern.
Fri Apr 10, 2020, 01:58 PM
Apr 2020

"Make it so" only has to be reasonable for reasonable people. Judges need to appear omniscient but sometimes can't say who the plaintiff and defendant are in the current case without looking at the file.

They've also to a greater extent than I was aware of become little preacher Judge Judys, playing the pontifex in their courtroom. It's a judge's bench, not a bema; and a verdict, not a drash.

The only thing it's guaranteed to do is have people play gotcha. "You honor, the clerk in county X stored it in a locked safe that 8 people had the combination to," or "It was locked in a room, but did anybody lock and have witnesses confirm that the window stayed closed during the time the ballots were to be secured."

My choice would be to put it them in a box marked "files 4/10/08 - 11/30/08" and put them on the second shelf from the bottom in the storeroom. Take the real files and put *them* in the safe or the box marked "ballots". Nobody'll pay attention to the dates on the meaningless papers, and *nobody's* going to want the files from 2008. And the risk of somebody throwing them away? Risible.

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